Synonyms for spare

Choose the Right Synonym for spare

Adjective

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh. lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.
a lean racehorse spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.
the gymnast's spare figure lank implies tallness as well as leanness.
the lank legs of the heron lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.
a lanky youth, all arms and legs gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.
a prisoner's gaunt face rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.
a rawboned farmer scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.
a scrawny chicken skinny street urchins

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable. meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.
a meager portion of meat scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.
supplies too scanty to last the winter scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.
in January the daylight hours are scantskimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.
tacky housing developments on skimpy lots spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.
a spare, concise style of writing sparse implies a thin scattering of units.
a sparse population

Examples of spare in a Sentence

Adjective
a spare pair of gloves
I keep a spare set of keys in my desk.
He has a spare frame.
He was tall and spare.
I like her spare style of writing. Verb
No one knows why the gunman shot some people and spared others.
Somehow the storm spared our house while nearby buildings were destroyed.
She was spared from having to answer any more questions.
He wanted to spare his family from the stress he had endured.
I could have spared myself the trouble.
He spared them the embarrassment of a public apology.
If you could spare a cup of sugar, it would save me a trip to the store. Noun
“I've lost the key.” “You'll find a spare in the drawer.”
If that one breaks, I've got a spare.
Most cars come with spares.
He got a strike and two spares.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spare.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.